High Stakes
Presently, America is experiencing a gambling boom. Everywhere you look there’s at least one advertisement involving gambling. Whether it’s a new Las Vegas hotel or a one-dollar scratcher, it seems to catch people’s eyes. Although it may look like a lot of glam and hype, there’s a dark side to the gambling industry, one people overlook the harsh consequences of.
The gambling industry grasps a hold of everyone’s attention. Lotteries appeal to the low economic levels of society as a way to change their lives forever. One pull of the lever on a slot machine can make you an instant millionaire. On the flip side, there are those who gamble for excitement and entertainment reasons. They create a lifestyle of risk taking and chance, often ending up with making the wrong decisions. Most People like the thrill of sitting down in front of a slot machine and pulling the lever in hopes of winning a bundle. The opportunities are endless. So, what does the gambling tell us? A dollar and a dream, that’s all it takes. The gambling industry has grabbed a hold on our society.
Roughly three quarters of all Americans gamble. Presently, 48 out of 50 states allow one or more forms of legalized gambling. Sure, the government is going to support gambling, but not without getting a healthy share of the profits. They use political smoke screening.
What most Americans don’t know is that promotions and advertisements are producing such small amounts of proceeds that it yields very little funding to public projects. Politicians say that by legalizing gambling, we reduce illegal gambling and organized crime. What its actually doing is enlarging the pool of bettors.
Even though casinos have created a number of jobs, the cost to society is greater than the benefits. People are arguing that the jobs created by casinos are low paying and offer little opportunity for the worker in progress. Furthermore, the creation of these casino jobs has taken away jobs from other areas of the economy. Restaurants near casinos are being forced out of business by the cheap buffets that casinos offer, to draw people in.
Gambling can have adverse effects on the social welfare of many individuals and families. Gambling can increase the number of individuals and families dealing with gambling addiction and exploit individuals and families who are economically disadvantaged. Under such circumstances, not all forms of gambling should be legalized. This is clear evidence that gambling revenue allocated for Texas schools is not worth the negative effects associated with gambling. Education is a valuable source of growth for all citizens in a community, no one in society can truly grow if one part of society is left
The following two paragraphs are a summary of Gloria Jimenez's essay Against the Odds and Against the Common Good. States should neither allow nor encourage state-run lotteries. There are five major arguments that people use to defend lotteries. One is that most lotteries are run honestly, but if gambling is harmful to society it is irrelevant to argue if they are honest or not. The second is that lotteries create jobs, but there are only a small handful of jobs that would be eliminated if lotteries were put out of business. Another argument that would support keeping lotteries is that, other than gambling addicts, people freely choose to buy lottery tickets. This is true, however, there are misleading advertisements that may cause people to buy tickets under false pretenses.
Well, one factor may be that just how much the Australian government depends on gambling, the Australian government revenue from gambling is in the order of around $5 billion or around 10% of total tax revenue. The classic saying “don't bite the hand that feeds you” basically describes this relationship in full.
For years, casino gambling was portrayed in the media and Hollywood as being associated with criminal activities and the mafia. Now with proper scrutiny and government regulations, casino gambling has become a lucrative business, with casinos stock even trading on Wall Street. Casino gambling is an increasingly popular and legal activity in many states throughout the United States. “The term gambling or ‘gaming’ as the industry calls it, means any legalized form of wagering or betting conducted in a casino, on a riverboat, on an Indian reservation, or at any other location under the jurisdiction of the United States” (National Gambling Impact Study Commission Act). States that allow casino gambling benefit vastly by re-incorporating the taxation of commerce gained from casinos and tourism associated with the casinos back into the state and local communities.
Ø Fahrenkopf Jr., F. (2002) Legalized Gambling Benefits Local Economies. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from Opposing Viewpoints database
Weissman, Robert. A BAD BET Casino Economics and the Politics of Gambling [Online] Available http://prince.essential.org/monitor/hyper/mm1196.04. html,
...way free alcohol which impairs peoples judgement and sense of reality. It is assumed that the more drinks someone has, the more likely it is that they will stay and spend more money. The money spent by the casino on alcohol is more than made up by profits.
The Gambling industry attempts to win support with misleading information in its promotions. For example, gambling is said to help stimulate the economy by providing more jobs. According to the American Gaming Association study, "In 1995, the casino industry recorded $25 billion . . . and paid only $7 billion in wages" (Arthur Anderson). Also according to Maura J. Casey, there is high unemployment rates around casinos. (Casey 37) With people's losses and by encouraging workers to believe in cheating customers, casinos focus on gaining more and more money for their n...
“Problem gambling, also known as gambling addiction or compulsive gambling, is defined as the urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop” (Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance 2015). Karen Frazier states, nearly 3 percent or 6 million adults and 500,000 teens meet the criteria for problem gambling (Frazier, 2015). Legalized Gambling has many positive aspects, and it should be noted that though a large number of citizens are considered “problem gamblers,” the majority of the population gambles causally and in moderation.
We need to a continuous support for research on emerging challenges from gambling. In order to address the issue of gambling effectively through research, monitoring and evaluation we need to define and identify problem gamblers.
...me within the area they are located. Some people would argue that casinos will create jobs and improve the local economy. However in this instance, the Utilitarianism theory proves otherwise. Gambling venues like casinos only benefit a small fraction of people. The consequences of operating and promoting gambling and its venues are harmful to our society directly and indirectly. It opens people to becoming addicted to gambling and becoming destructive to themselves and everyone around them. It also leads to other addictions like alcoholism. It indirectly effects people by promoting an environment that breeds criminality. Increasing the restrictions on gambling and limiting the amount of gambling venues will benefit our society. This is why gambling should not be celebrated, but should treated like it is cancer.
The gambling addiction has rarely been in the favor of the gambler whether it is blackjack gambling, poker or other different gambling. It is the gambling industry that always ends up making fortunes from their gambling investments. Most people have seriously been addicted to gambling, and they have always found it hard to walk out even after experiencing total financial ruin. There is various type of gambling addiction, for instance, betting with a friend to win something or rather getting into a raffle with a friend, purchase of a lottery ticket, participating in casinos, slot machines and cards. Besides, gambling addiction is quite evident when one ends up getting into a financial ruin, and feels that it is only gambling that can help solve the situation by winning more cash. However, this has always ended up in an unending cycle that keeps going around till rehabilitation becomes the only option for recovery. There have been cases of gambling addiction when people decide to make bets that are quite risky while playing games, with an intention of relation high emotions with massive risks that come with the
Gambling is described as the betting of money or property on the result of an event or game that is mainly random with the desire to win more money or gain additional property. The industry or sector created by the activity of legal gambling is referred to as gaming. Since inception, gambling and gaming has continued to develop to an extent that it worth more than $335 billion across the globe. Most of the revenues obtained in this industry are generated by casinos and lotteries. In the past few years, gambling and gaming have attracted significant concern and controversy, especially with regards to the morality of the practice and whether its financial benefits outweigh the damage. While proponents of gambling
So, where do we get the money needed to provide free clinics? I think it should come straight from the source of the problem. States that have legalized gambling use gambling as a way to generate additional revenue through fees and taxes (6). The extra r...
Most people when they think of gambling, they think of middle aged men and or women or old men and or women gambling their money away at a casino, while getting free drinks while sitting at the slot machine and they are doing so because they are lonely and or depressed. Many do not realize that gambling is an addiction just as drugs and alcohol are to some people. People can become addicted to gambling for the reason being they like to win, they like to take chances and like taking risks, or they like the satisfaction they get from the result of gambling. Gambling is a hit or miss when it comes to winning. Those who gamble,usually know that they will not win every single time they sit down to gamble. There is always that risk of them losing and sometimes losing a lot of money depending how much they put down and how often they play that they may never